Tuesday, September 25, 2007

A site called missingmoney.com allows you to search for money that has been in accounts you have forgotten about, and that the companies holding this money for you have turned over to the state (this is the principle of escheatment). This MarketWatch article has more:

It [the money] comes from a number of sources, including abandoned savings accounts and stock dividends, and forgotten utility deposits and paychecks. In all of these instances, businesses are legally required to turn the unclaimed money over to the state for safekeeping.

The site is very easy to use. You enter your first and last name and a state, and it conducts a search for you. Of course, it's easier to sort through the results if you have an uncommon name.